Obama takes oath, urges end to partisan rancor

President Barack Obama urged Americans to reject political “absolutism”as he kicked off his second term with a noticeably more subdued inauguration.

Four years after scripting history by becoming America’s first black President, Barack Obama on Monday began his second innings at the White House after being ceremonially sworn in as the US President with budget troubles, gun control and immigration issues lurking ahead.

Standing before a crowd of thousands braving the chill at the iconic white-domed Capitol building draped in stripes, Obama renewed his oath of office for the second day in a row at the 57th inauguration ceremony of an American president.